District 2
by jacqueliney383
Summary: Katniss visits Gale in District 2, under Haymitch's advice... Alternate ending
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys this is my second fanfic in the making and I hope you guys like it. I really love KALE! **

**Disclaimer: All rights go to Suzanne Collins**

Katniss sat in her rocking chair, thinking and thinking and thinking. Gale was in district 2, probably married, happy, and without her. And what was she doing? Thinking about him and collecting dust. Peeta left her after all her spark had gone, ever since Prim died. So, she just sat in her rocking chair everyday poring over pictures of her and Gale. She never realized it but she was really nothing without him in her life. They completed each other like Ying and Yang, and without him she was broken, sad, and lonely. As she saw a picture of her and Gale in the woods she started to wonder how that got there no one had ever taken a picture of them in the woods... Though, she was confused her thoughts still wandered to Gale and the way he looked on the picture, so happy and loving. She just wanted to see that again, just his smile one more time...

"Sweetheart?" Haymitch's drunken voice ran through the empty house.

"In here!" She screamed at him as his erratic footsteps echoed on the cold marble floor. Haymitch's head appeared in the doorway and his blonde hair hung over his face like wet noodles.

"What are you doing?" He asked, his voice almost as loud as a lions roar.

"I'm looking at pictures of Gale!" Katniss screamed back at the same tone.

"Why don't you ever go find him?" Haymitch asked calming down to a normal voice level.

"I just.. can't!"

"Afraid he has moved on? Well, let me tell you something sweetheart, he did not move on, by the looks of these pictures" Haymitch replied stumbling over to Katniss and ripping the picture from her hand "he is still very much in love. If you don't find him soon, though he might just leave, time is ticking!"

"Fine then I will go!" Katniss screamed at him still mad at his accusation of her being afraid.

"Okay then you better get packing! I have two train tickets that just so happened to be going to District 2 today at 10." Haymitch replied, hobbling out the door. "You can thank me later!"

**The whole time I was writing this I was thinking of Haymitch. Oh how I love Haymitch! Please review I love hearing from you!**


	2. Chapter 2

**This one is a little short and I apologize but it was all I could come up with!**

Katniss boarded the train, completely and utterly angry at Haymitch. He got her on this stupid train to District 2 to find the boy who possibly killed her sister. She cursed at the air and grumpily sat down in her cold, hard chair just like her heart.

When the train stopped in District 2 Katniss's heart was about to beat out of her chest. Her brain was in a swirl, and her hands were clammy. What if he's married? What if I'm intruding? What if he hates me? What if he forgot about me? Each question she asked herself shot at her brain to go back to District 13 and live life there and forget about Gale, but somewhere inside her knew that she couldn't do that and it is worth a shot. As she got off the train she walked to the train stations exit where Haymitch had scheduled a driver to take her to Gales current location. "Strange.." She wondered out loud "it's like he had it all planned out..." A voice screamed her name and she snapped out of her confusion daze.

"Katniss!" A voice screamed and when she snapped around there was Peeta Mellark holding a sign with her name written in fancy letters.

"Peeta? What are you doing here? I was arranged to see a limo driver that would send me to Gale for an old friends meet up..."

"I am your limo driver." He said, opening the door in a flourish.

**Please review and I did not try to disrespect Peeta in anyway by calling him a limo driver!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Still short dagnabbit...**

Her jaw dropped open. "Wait, what?"

"I A-M Y-O-U-R L-I-M-O D-R-I-V-E-R." He said in a slow tone to make sure she would understand.

"I know that. It's just.. Why you?" She asked.

"Haymitch called me and said if I could give you a ride and I agreed. It's not a big deal and are we going or not?"

"Oh, we're going just don't expect conversation from me." She muttered as she climbed into the limo

"Wasn't even going to try." They sat in an uncomfortable silence as he drove her to a small cabin in the middle of nowhere. A large, chubby old man stumbled out of the cabin with a beer bottle in his hand, he appeared to be drunk. "I might just stay here to keep you safe from this... this... well scumbag." Peeta said to the old man. Katniss nodded and with shaking hands entered the small cabin, no matter what she was going to reunite with Gale.

**REVIEW!**


	4. Chapter 4

**YES! LONGER FINALLY! Well, here is chapter 4 I hope you like it and when you're done please review!**

"Gale?" Katniss yelled as she entered the small log cabin. She turned a corner, into the small living room, and beer bottles were scattered all over the ground. In the small couch laid a passed out Gale, beer bottle in hand. Katniss shook his shoulder and grabbed a bucket because she knew how it felt to be in a hangover. She had over drank a couple of times after Prim died. Gale still hadn't woken when she got back so she shook him a little more and started saying Gale over and over again.

"Katniss?" Gale said as he finally woke up. "What are you doing here, and more importantly why do I feel so horrible?"

"You over drank and you're having a hangover, and I'm here because I want to be here and kinda because of Haymitch..." Katniss explained as Gale vomited into the bucket she was holding in front of his face. He gave her a thumbs up and smiled weakly. She grabbed a blanket from nearby and removed the beer bottle from Gale's fingers. Katniss forced Gale to curl back on the couch as she draped the blanket over him. She let him retch one more times before she tucked him in and almost forced him to go to sleep.

"You'll feel better and be able to move more. Trust me, I know this from experience..." Katniss coaxed.

"But..But I don't want to go to sleep!" He whined like a small four year old. Katniss just shook her head and watched as Gale fell asleep. She then got up, kissed him on the forehead and began the slow and tiring work of picking up all the beer bottles.

"Peeta!" She whisper, screamed as she finished picking up the last beer bottle.

"Yes!" He whisper, screamed back.

"You can come in now." She whispered as she walked out. She looked at the chubby old man who was tied up and asleep leaning against a pole. "What did you do?" Katniss gasped.

"He was hitting me so I tied him up." Peeta shrugged.

"Well, at least carry the poor man inside. He must be freezing!"

"Whatever you say, but I don't think I can make it inside with him on my back. Maybe in the limo?" Peeta asked.

"Fine with me, as long as he's safe. Gale might be mad if we let him stay tied up to a pole in the middle of nowhere." Katniss replied. Peeta grunted as he picked up the old man.

"Would you mind getting that for me?" He said gesturing at the limo door.

"Fine, but may I remind you that the old man should be in a comfortable position!" Katniss replied walking over and opening the limo door.

"Okay, okay, I got it, comfortable position!" Peeta placed the old man in the limo, and shut the door. Katniss was already heading back inside, as she reached the door she gestured for him to come inside and Peeta followed.

"You are sleeping upstairs in the bedroom I found there. I will be downstairs in the living room if you need anything."

"Got it! Upstairs, bedroom, downstairs, anything. Then I will see you tomorrow morning!" Peeta started making his way up the stairs.

"Ah yes, watch out for that..." Something crashed and Peeta yelped out in pain. "..step"

"Could have told me that earlier." He muttered as he removed his foot from the hole in the wooden step.

"Ok then, good night!" She chuckled as Peeta limped his way up the stairs. She then moved to the living room where she found Gale sleeping peacefully. She curled up on the floor next to him and fell asleep to the soft snores of Gale and the creak of the house.


	5. Chapter 5

**Please review!**

Katniss heard eggs on a frying pan in the kitchen. She slowly propped her elbow up so she could turn to see who was cooking. Gale had left his original spot on the beaten couch and had moved to his place in the kitchen where he was holding the copper frying pan flipping the eggs. Katniss stood up and slowly, like a zombie, made her way into the kitchen. The room was the size of a bathroom and everything seemed to be growing mold or rusting.

"Morning Sunshine!" Gale said as he saw her moseying her way over. "Not a morning person?" Katniss nodded as her eyes threatened to close and make her fall down face first. "Well I've made you some eggs if you want them?" He asked her as he slid the egg onto a wooden plate. She stared hungrily at the eggs and snatched for it but Gale got there first he told her to freshen up then she could eat breakfast. He pointed her out back to the small hut that served as the washroom. She walked to the small cabin and began to turn on the water, a wooden lever in the wall was painted with a giant "PUSH DOWN" so she obeyed and pushed. The water rushed on her head before she could see it coming. It was cold but as it trickled down her back she remembered last time she felt the cold water run down her back. It was when she and Gale went to the lake in the woods. She had jumped in, clothes and all, and splashed around until she hit Gale with one of her splash. He had laughed, grabbed her from behind and jumped back into the water, she was laughing so hard she couldn't hear him say something into her ear. She couldn't recall what he had said but he didn't speak the whole rest of the time they were there he had just stared at her a she splashed in the water. The water stopped running and Katniss took that as her cue to leave the small hut , she put on her clothes and ran back inside. Peeta was awkwardly sitting in the kitchen tapping his foot and his hair was in every direction. Gale was humming a song a big smile plastered on his face still flipping eggs and pancakes. Katniss went and sat down by the eggs that were placed on the kitchen table and dug in hungrily she had had nothing to eat since she left the train station with Peeta. Peeta's hat was on and he had wrapped up a pancake in a small bundle of napkins.

"Well I will be off I have a few other places to be. Where do you want that old man?" He asked as he stood up with his pancake placed cautiously in his palm.

"Oh you mean Jack? This is his hovel so you might want to lay him on the couch. WHy did you remove him anyway?"

"He kind of annoyed me stumbling all about in a drunken haze until I just had to bind him up and place him in my limo to shut him up. Anyway, I'll bring him inside and unbind him." Peeta left the kitchen and his heavy footsteps rang through the whole hut.

"Gale, where do you actually live?" Katniss asked as she noticed him digging through all the cupboards to find something he needed to cook.

"What do you think I don't live here?"

"Well, 1.) you are digging through the cupboards like a maniac and 2.) while I was cleaning none of your clothes are here or any of your belongings beside what you're wearing and beer bottles."

"Point taken, well I live a little down in a nice tidy house that I don't really like to live in on the weekends..."

"Why?"

"Because, other people live there on the weekends, they sort of rent from me and the last time I lived there it was extremely awkward."

"Oh, so I have to stay here till tonight?"

"Afraid so, though Jack never goes upstairs so, you can hang there."

"Okay sure, well I'm going to go hunting, if you want to join my trapping pal I will be just north of the hovel." Katniss stood up and placed her bowl in the sink and grabbed her bow from her suitcase. She strapped her arrows to her back and ran outside.


	6. Chapter 6

**No dialogue, just sweet moments... Please review!**

The fresh, clean air hit her like a blast, she whipped through the small parking lot where a struggling Peeta was lugging a chubby snoring old man into the house. Katniss waved and darted into the dense trees. A rustle of leaves made Katniss dart her head to the left, oh how the Hunger Games had changed her. Her deaf ear made her other ear sharper making her more sensitive to sound. A small hoof showed behind the bushes, Katniss peered over the leaves and a deer stared straight back at her, sharp beady eyes tore its way through her heart ripping it to shreds. Those eyes reminded her of Cato, and to think she was so happy to go outside... Those eyes were those twins eyes right before they died. Katniss shot at the deer, she missed by a long shot but the arrow made the deer run away in a fright. Katniss breathed a sigh of relief she started to cry and tore out of the forest and into the house right in to Gale who was coming out to check on her. Her tears stained his shirt, making a little wet puddle on his stomach. He held her as she cried, and when she ran out of tears he held her when she choked, coughed and whimpered. He never asked what was wrong because he knew Katniss she would never tell him unless she wanted to and when she cried she didn't want to. Though he would wait like he always would, only for her and always for her...


	7. Chapter 7

**Second to last chapter! Please Review!**

The next week Katniss had learned about her best friends new life and his job and his constant drunk Saturdays (in which she fixed.) And on Sunday a question that had bugged Katniss since the death of President Coin came out.

"Why did you leave?" Katniss had asked before realizing what she had said and clamping her hand over her mouth.

"I thought you were happy with Peeta and seeing you with him was so aggravating, it overcame your happiness. I left because I thought I was going to hurt you because of him." He answered truthfully.

"But, when Peeta and I dissipated it was all over the papers why didn't you come back?"

"Because I thought you didn't love me anymore... But I still did and that hurt even more..."

"Well, I am going to tell you a secret. Now lean in close." Katniss whispered, Gale leaned in. "I will always love you..." She whispered and then she kissed him, full on the mouth with no take backs. Ever...


	8. Chapter 8

**Oh, Haymitch... Please review!**

Haymitch rocked in the old rocking chair and flipped through the old pictures of Gale and Katniss. Each one he saw he smiled and until he reached the last page did he see on empty space, so he took out a small square picture a new one that was sent to him a couple days ago. It read:

Dear Haymitch,

We're getting married, and we want to cordially invite you to our royal celebration we hope you can attend!

Love the happy couple,

Gale and Katniss

Haymitch slipped the small piece of paper into the book then shut it, then the small mysterious picture of Katniss and Gale, that led to all of this slipped out. Haymitch picked it up and sighed.

"I remember the day I took this, I thought I could've never seen a happier couple."


End file.
